Subject Curriculum Lead: Mrs Abby Amos
Intent: At Cowling Community Primary School we aim to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the World and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Our Geography curriculum will enable children to take on the role of geographer: exploring, discovering and beginning to make sense of the world around them. In doing this, we hope our children will develop a care for the Earth and its people whoever and wherever they are.
Implementation: We aim for our EYFS children to know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions. We talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. We also aim for our EYFS children to know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things.
In KS1 our geography curriculum is split into five blocks over two years; history and geography alternative being taught each block each year. In year A our children will explore and discover what it is like to live in Cowling and Kampong Ayer. They will also explore and discover the U.K. In year B our children will explore and discover our school and its surrounding environment and go on an adventure around our wonderful world. They will also learn about climate change.
In KS2 our geography curriculum is also split into five blocks over two years; history and geography alternative being taught each block each year. Our KS2 geography curriculum is split into lower KS2 and upper KS2. In year A our lower KS2 children will further explore and discover the U.K and all around the world. They will also explore and discover rainforests. In year A our upper KS2 children will explore and discover rivers, learn all about marvellous maps and explore and discover America. In year B our lower KS2 children will learn about the needs of a settlement and the needs of the planet as a whole. They will also explore and discover Whitby. In year B our upper KS2 children will explore and discover Eastern Europe and explore and discover mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes.
Impact: In EYFS our children are assessed against the Early Learning Goal – Understanding the World. Observations and assessments are recorded using an on-line journal (Tapestry) and contribute to the summative assessment at the end of EYFS using the Early Years Outcomes for Understanding the World: ‘People, Communities, and culture’ and ‘The Natural World’.
In KS1 and KS2 our children are assessed against the end of KS1 and KS2 goals. At the end of every block we make a note of any child who hasn’t yet achieved these goals. We also assess the goals taught within each lesson and adjust our planning to meet the needs of our children. In addition to this we revisit key knowledge 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 12 weeks after each block of teaching and learning.
SEND: At Cowling Community Primary School, we aim to enable all children to achieve their full potential. All children including those with SEND are given opportunities to thrive in our geography lessons. All children will be supported through differentiation, adaptation or adult support, to enable equal access to learning in geography.
Enrichment of Geography at Cowling: Taking on the role of geography involves us exploring and discovering our village in EYFS and KS1 by going on a physical and human features hunt around our village. We also use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of our school and its grounds in KS1. In lower KS2 our children are given the opportunity to go on a trip to Whitby and in upper KS2 our children are given the opportunity to go on a trip to a local river. In addition to this we have regular visits from Michael Green who talks to our children about his latest adventures, which include trips to Antarctica!